Up until last year I have never owned a pair of rubber boots. Perhaps I did when I was little, but I don’t remember ever having a pair and I’m pretty sure I’d have memories of rubber boots! As a very frugal person, I really dislike spending money on things I don’t think I need, so I put off buying boots for the longest time. I finally broke down and purchased them, mostly for photos actually, but then I realized what an important tool they are!
I wear these boots ALL THE TIME, and I’m not joking. I wear them around the garden so much that I can’t remember what I used to wear? They come in so handy when it’s raining, snowing or in the muddy messy days following snow or rain, which is pretty much every day here in NE Ohio. They’re also very handy because you can slip them on and off very quickly and easily, thus saving me few valuable minutes every time I need to run to the compost, out to the garage get something, or down to the mailbox.
The funny thing, these boots became working boots instead of photo props, these are some of the few photos they’ve cameoed in. If you were reading back when I talked about the footwear I used to wear in the garden you’ll know how much better these are!
If you don’t have a pair of rubber boots, I cannot recommend them highly enough. I believe they are a tool that every gardener needs!!!

Do you wear rubber boots around the garden? What is a tool you’d recommend that every gardener own?

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39 Comments to “Every Gardener Needs…..”

karlinon January 14, 2012 at 6:07 am

Yeah, I agree that boots are the #1 tool and pruners would be #2. My garden friend all through my 60+ years has been a good set of pruners. I carry them with me through the garden to deadhead, shape, harvest, and tidy up. I have a pair in the garden shed for the backyard and another pair in the garage for the front yard.

Although I just recently discovered your blog I will certainly continue to follow it. I think you’re doing a great job. Love all your photos, content and recipes.

Years ago I picked up a pair of dark green Hunter brand boots at a garage sale in Virginia for $2. Best pair of boots I ever owned. They lasted about 10 years before they died and I had had to look for a new pair. Came across Muck boots on sale at the local Tractor Supply. LOVE THEM!! Warm in winter with the neoprene tops, dry, and double as kayak gear when we put-in remote places without a boat launch. I prefer the ‘tack’ style boot-narrower ankles. Love your blue boots!

I wear my Muck Boots almost every day, year round! We have some wet/swampy areas on my property, so they are great when I walk my dogs. They’re great in the garden (though the big treads track lots of muck), They’re great to go to the chicken coop because I don’t care what I step in… I couldn’t live without them.

I just bought a second pair to keep at work. I work for a land trust and am out in the field quite a bit, so having a pair at work saves a trip home to get my boots when I forget them or didn’t know I’d need them any particular day.

They’re not cheap, but they are well worth the money. I love your blue boots though – they are much more attractive than mine!

Boots are on my wish list this year. I’ve always used whatever old worn out tennis shoes I had that were laying around. But you’re right. I want something that I can slide on and off easily. Do you wear boots in the summer or switch to a “crock” type slide?

I have the ‘Muck Boots’ and i love them. I am on my second pair in 6 years and I LOVE them. I can wear them outside in below zero weather w/o socks while I am in the barn and my feet stay toasty! The only thing is…come late Spring, sometimes my feet stay too warm in them so I was looking to invest in another pair that weren’t so insulated.Allison´s last post ..Handmade Pay it Forward

I used to use mine for everything- taking the dogs out, working in the garden, putting the trash out, etc. When we acquired our chickens a few months ago, I found out the limitations to rubber boots. The chicken manure would just get stuck in my boots every single time I went out to tend to the chickens. I had to pull out my 7-8 year old cowboy boots with no grips or anything on the bottom for this job. I’ll have to see if they make rubber boots with less grip than the ones I have.

Same here, muck boots and my pruners and a small handy plastic bucket for weeds, dead-headed flowers etc. Usually in my back pocket and then when I sit down with a cup of coffee for a break, I sit on them still in my pocket, I’m used to them.
Right now, we are in a “very” dry January for Nebraska. No snow at the moment, so no “muck” to swim around.
Great post this morning.Denimflyz´s last post ..Add to the tutorial

Yeah, I love mine except in summer, those babies can get hot! You’ll need rubber boots even more when you have chickens. There’s no way I’m going in the coop without boots on my feet. Especially in winter when the bedding is really high. So gross.

I love my rubber boots too! My husband made fun of me when I first bought them and always says I look like I’m ready to go to the jungle. I agree with a previous comment…very hot in the summer, but I still used them while digging in the garden.Sierra´s last post ..Can I get an "Amen"!

Love my boots! I don’t use them much during the dry, hot summers here (Maryland – we’ve had pretty dry summers since we moved here 4 years ago). But in late winter and spring when it’s still chilly and wet, they’re lifesavers. I’m in them nearly every day then. I have a separate pair I use for rainy days out in town (they don’t get caked in mud like my gardening boots.)

Oh, golly! I live on a farm in wet Western WA. I didn’t “get” the appeal of rubber boots, either, until I needed them, and boy, do they ever get a workout! My DH was addicted to his as a little boy, and wore them everywhere, needed or not. He’s already worn out his Xtra Tuffs so needs another pair.

I, like you, used to garden in clogs, or, when it was really hot, these cheapo hot pink Crocs knock-offs. Last year, trying to pick tomatoes in the clogs in really fluffy, rocky soil, I realized I really hate getting my feet that dirty! I keep wool inserts in my boots to keep my feet warm, so those would have to go in summer, but it would sure be nice to keep my feet cleaner. (Although, dirty feet would equal a reason to make one of those cool pebble-lined foot washing boxes!)Amy´s last post ..Cow time

I have a pair of rubber boots that I bought while do field research in Panama. I think I got them for like $8 US (Panama uses U.S. currency) and they were my saving grace during that field season. I found room to pack them in my suitcase to bring them back to Michigan and now they are my gardening/chicken keeping/snowblowing boots. I love them.Daedre Craig´s last post ..Home and Garden Goals for 2012

I’ve got a couple pair of cute rain boots that I wear for quick outside trips in wet, muddy weather, including mucking around in theyard/garden and snow shoveling. I dont put too much wear & tear on them though.

I also have a super heavy pair of chemical resistant rubber boots I got when I was a Hazmat Tech a zillion years ago ;) , but I havent used them in years. If I need them though, they’re there.

I forgot to add my favorite garden tool.. I have an ancient pair of pruners that I love, nothing new can take their place, but if I only could have one tool for my garden use, it would be my stirrup hoe. ♥♥♥

I got mine at Sears, but I first read about them at Johnny’s Selected Seeds many years ago. Here is a link and there is a quick video on the page that shows how wonderfully they work.

They are a must have here in the winter. I have an old pair that looks just horrible but I hang onto them. LOL! Hope you did not get too much snow up that way. We finally got about three inches here total.Lona´s last post ..We Got Some Snow

We have had ours for forty years. When we gardened on a 1/4 acre place in town we were known as The Boot People. A couple of pair had their uppers wear out and we scissored them off, with a tongue at the back for easy tugging on (important as we are now over 60) and getting a bit stiff), and they are our standard garden shoes for when the clogs won’t do.

Our most important tool is the ho-mi, a kind of right-angled trowel, superb for all transplant-related tasks.risa´s last post ..Eggses, it is

Rubber Crocs clogs are all I ever wear in the garden.
There are so many necessary tool; but this gardener MUST have lip balm. As for a tool, sharp, clean pruning snips are used daily.Maybelline´s last post ..Boysenberry Bare Roots & Support

I have a pair of snow boots that have a zipper, but I can still slip them on and off easily. I’ve been wearing them lately. But I really want a pair of sturdy rubber boots.itchbay´s last post ..Happy Bowl Soup

I’ve had rubber boots on my list of “to get”s for a while but can never find a pair that fits comfortably around my calves (big, they are). I’ll keep looking, though, and until then use slip-on water-proof shoes.

My indispensible in the garden is either my pruners or a 5 gal. bucket. I use them as a stool, to carry weeds/tools/harvest/water/dirt/etc.Kelly´s last post ..Winter Doldrums

Rubber boots for the serious mud, rubber shoes for easy on and off. I felt about getting the rubber shoes like you felt about getting the boots, but like you, I wear the shoes ALL THE TIME. Easier than the boots to get on and off.

Nowadays, of course, it’s all about the snow boots, but the rubber footwear is in use about half the year anyway.kristin @ going country´s last post ..Rushrushrush

As much as I want a lighter pair, the ones i have are actually from a pair if waders that ended up leaking beyond repair. But the boots were fine so I hacked off the neoprene and I have what I refer to as “chicken poop boots”! I use them for everything!

Huzzah! I bought my rubber boots for the garden, but they’re so easy to slip on and off, you’ll catch me wearing them to the grocery store sometimes.Joshua´s last post ..If You See Something, Say Something

i have a pair of muck boots (“hoser”), which are great also for hiking through streams. alptekin loves them so much that he wants a pair now, too. the only time they suck is when you walk on, say, ice. they are definitely NOT made for that.Sofie Dittmann´s last post ..A New Addition to the Family

You’ve written down exactly what my experience is/was. For several years I put off buying rubber boots, then couldn’t remember how I’d ever gotten along without them. I wear mine pretty much year round, except for partod the summer!Wendy´s last post ..quotable sunday

You’ve written down exactly what my experience is/was. For several years I put off buying rubber boots, then couldn’t remember how I’d ever gotten along without them. I wear mine pretty much year round, except for part of the summer!Wendy´s last post ..quotable sunday

Holy cow! I don’t know what I did before my wellies either but I was the same way. I bought them because we had serious flooding and it turned out they were the best thing for wearing out to the pasture to feed the chickens every morning in addition to gardening and walking through high water. I’d like to get some pretty ones though… mine are just boring and black.Annie´s last post ..The Non-Disposable, No Waste Life and Baby… Post Birth Update

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but just recently moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine.